Tobacco advertising, promotion and sponsorship in the WHO European Region

A comprehensive ban on tobacco advertising, promotion and sponsorship should not be limited to direct forms of advertising but should also cover indirect forms of advertising and promotion. Otherwise, a partial ban would allow the tobacco industry to redirect their effort to alternative forms of tobacco advertising promotion and sponsorship.

Effectiveness of domestic bans on tobacco advertising, promotion and sponsorship can be undermined without the regulation of international forms of advertising and without international cooperation. It is essential that cross border forms of tobacco advertising, promotion and sponsorship be banned.

To date, only 13 WHO European countries (representing about 15% of the WHO European countries) have implemented a ban on all national forms of direct tobacco advertising and promotion. Only three WHO European countries have banned all forms of indirect advertising, with the exception of display and visibility of tobacco products at points of sale which is solely banned in Ireland. None of the WHO European countries has banned all international forms of tobacco advertising promotion and sponsorship.